Given name & surname
Debra
“bee”
In English use, Debra has a related form in Deborah. One Hebrew interpretation is “bee.”
Meaning & origin
What it means
In English use, Debra has a related form in Deborah. One Hebrew interpretation is “bee.”
Explained through its name family
Where it comes from
In English use, Debra has a related form in Deborah. An origin associated with Deborah is Hebrew.
Explained through its name family
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1914. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin. In English use, Debra has a related form in Deborah. The history of Deborah gives this family its wider story. Deborah has a place in biblical naming traditions.
Combines direct and name-family evidence
Debra through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 551,841
- 1,146 boys · 550,695 girls
- Most popular year
- 1955
- 50,638 babies
- 2025
- 31
- #4,478 for girls
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- −24%
- Easing
By the numbers
In 2025, this name appeared in 31 U.S. birth records for girls, ranking No. 4,478 among girls’ names. Average annual use for girls was 24.0% lower in 2021–2025 than in 2016–2020. Its largest published annual count for girls was 50,563 in 1955. Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 465,857 as a first name in 2020; 294 as a surname in 2020.
From Social Security birth records and U.S. Census name counts for this exact spelling. Other spellings are counted separately.
Debra’s family of names
In English usage, Debra is a diminutive of Deborah. In English usage, Debra has a related form in Deborah.
Inner ring: nicknames and forms · outer: across languages.
Nicknames & forms 2
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
Across languages 4
Equivalents and cognates in other languages, plus older forms it grew from.
People named Debra
- Debra WingerAmerican actressborn 1955
- Debra MessingAmerican actress (born 1968)
- Deb HaalandAmerican politician (born 1960)
- Debra Jo RuppAmerican actressborn 1951
- Debra PagetAmerican actress and entertainer (born 1933)
- Debra MonkAmerican actressborn 1949
- Debra WilsonAmerican actressborn 1962
- Debra FischerAmerican astronomer and academicborn 1951
- Debra HillAmerican film producer (1950-2005)
Characters named Debra: Debra Morgan (fictional character for the TV series Dexter), Debra Whitman (Marvel Comics).
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
Appears in
Similar names
If you love Debra, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.